Toy electric trolley railway



Aug. 10 1926.

H. S. BECKER TOY ELECTRIC TROLLEY RAILWAY Filed April l 1925 I5 Sheets-Sheet l www A.. QETWVQQQW EEEEEE H. S. BECKER TOY ELECTRIC TROLLEY RAILWAY.

Filed April 1, 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 gmx/nto@ H. s. BECKER TOY ELECTRIC TROLLEY RILWY Aug. 1i 1926s Filed April l, 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet L' Patented Aug. 10, 1926.

UNITED STATES 1,593,283 PATENT OFFICE.

HARRY S. BECKER, F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO AMERICAN FLYER KANU- FACTUBING COMPANY, 0F CHICAGO, ELINOIS, A CORPORATION Ol' ILLINOIS.

. TOY ELECTRIC TROLLEY RAILWAY.

spline-ation mea apra 1, 192s. sum Misses.

This invention relates to toy railways, and more particularly to a novel and practical toy railway using an overhead trolle thereby simulating the'ap earance and 'e 7 4 feet of interurban traction 'nes.

AA primary object of the invention is to provide a novel construction utilizing an overhead trolley rather than a third rail which has heretofore been universally used 1o in toy railways. Where a conducting third rail is used in track construction special features of track insulation are required thereby making itv necessary to construct special track sections, whereas in the present construction employing an overhead trolley it is entirely practical and feasible to use a two rail track, thereby making it possible to use the same track sections for trains of the present overhead trolley type as for mechanically or spring driven trains.

This important yfeature notonly has advantages from a manufacturing and stock carrying Astandpoint but also permits the owners of mechanical trains to electrically.

25 equip or velectrify their lines. by the addition of simple and practical equipment for supporting the trolley, together with the necessary electrical connections for the trolley and track.

A further object of the invention -is to provide a construction that may be made at relatively low cost, and in which the parts can be made small enough to be conveniently packed for shipment in a dismantled condition, and which may b e readily assembledA by inexperienced persons to function in a practical and reliable way.

A further object of the invention is to provide. novel means for securely supporting 'zo and positioning the trolley wire to thereby establish proper contact with the trolley wheel carried by the car. A still further object of the invention is to provide a stable and substantial trolley supportl or pole possessing novel features which permit of its being readily attached to the trackway in such a way thatl it contributes to the stability of the track and also provides a rigid trolley wire supporting mep5 the same consists in the novel construction,

combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described, illustrated and claimed.

A preferred and practical embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of a track having a trolley car thereon, the same receiving power from an overhead: trolley wire..

Figure A2 is a top plan view of a section of trackway showing the manner of arranging and mounting the trolley supportmg means.

Figure 3 is a detail perspective view of a track carrying terminal device for the track and trolley.

Figure 4 is a detail cross sectional view taken on the line 4--4 of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the trolley pole and suspension clip. f v

Figure `6 is an enlarged detail sectional view of the trolley suspension clip.

Figure 7 is a detailperspective view of the wire carrying plate of the suspension clip.

Figure 8 is a detail perspective view of the trolley wire.

Figure 9 is an enlarged side elevation,

-partly in section of the trolley pole mounting.

Figure 110 is a top plan view of the troli In carrying the present invention into efect it is proposed to provide a. trackway designated generally as A and'trolley supportlng means B cooperating with the track to support the trolley wire in position to" be engaged by the traveling contact of the trolley pole carried by the car C, the latter having a vpropelling motor M.

Thetrack A is preferably made in sec'- tionsfor convenience in storage and includes the rails 1--1 mounted upon cross-ties 2, the said rails 1 being connected by the metallic 'uint-pins 3projecting at the ends of the ollow heads of the rails 1. The rails 1 and ties 2 present a metal-to-metal contact at all points and thus require no insulation as between the ties and the rails thereby'v making it possible to readily utilize the tworail trackcommonly used in connection with spring-motor driven trams s0 that where a l I suchtrains are now fin use it will be possible for'the owner to readily convert such trackl v way into use as a art of an electrical trolley system by adding the necessary trolley supporting means and a car equipped wi an electric motor. "1' i In connection with the trolley supporting elements or means B it will be observed that the same are preferably connected with the track A thereby to provide a convenient point of connection for the supports, while at the same time also obtaining the advantage of utilizing the trolley supporting means for clampingl' or' uniting adjacent track sections toget er, as when the base of the trolley supporting means clampingly en'gages a pair of adjacent ties 2--2 of adjioining track sections. While it will 'of v course be understood that it is fully' within the scope of the present invention toconneet the trolley'l supporting means B "with the track A eitherv at the point of the ties or otherwise as by clamping the base of the trolley 4support directly to the rails,vv

nevertheless the manner of attaching the trolley support shown' in the drawings,l is practical and vfeasible and serves the additional function of a track connection or tie. Furthermore, it will also be understood that it is within the scope of the invention to mount the trolley supportin pendently of the track but a jacent thereto, the object and purpose ofthe invention be- Ving to provide a toy electrical railway system wherein trolley supporting means is utilized in connection' with a track having rails upon which the toy car travels when its motor is energized.

Referring more secificall to: the trolley supporting means it wil be observed from Fi es 1 and 5 articularly that the same inc udes a vertice trolley pole or ost 4 having a substantially horizontal ase portion 5 provided l with an angular tieembracing clamping portion 6. a apted to iii' over the sides of a pair of ties 2 as clearly shownin Figures 1 and 2 of the drawi In. connection with this base 5 it will observed that the same extends 'beneath the rails 1-1 s o that the clamp 6 vengages the ties from the side opposite the pole orpost end of t e pole 4 may be provided with the curved offset portion which terminates in the hook 7, or the oiset portion may be otherwise formed as conditions of manufacture may dictate.

For the purpose of carrying the trolley oilset means indetrolley evice T the same comprising a :mounted in har wire and positioning the same in the pro er relation to the track A there is provide a novel insulating suspension cli designated generally as S. This ,clip pre erably consists of an insulating body 8 having an eye of'said body is provided with a wire carrying plate 10 which is provided at its lower edge with a horizontal offset lip or ledge l1 which is spaced from the bottom edge 8" ran of the insulation thereby to provide ample room for receiving' the trolley wire W. In order to retain the wire W on the ledge or shelf 11,`the opposite face of the body 8 is preferably provided with a keeper plate 12 which is slit or cut as indicated at 13 there- It w'l be under- 'adjacent wires W, or, in other words, su

ports one end. of two wires which may readily fitted into the space provided between the sprin fingers 14 and the angle vor corner provi ed by the offset portion 11 of the wire carrying plate. Il desired, the

formation instead of the more or less angudeparting .from the spirit of the invention.

ortion 11 may assume a rounded The to of the car C is equipped with a standard 15 having the trolley wheel 16 17 while the standard 15 ismoun'ted. to pivot on a horizontalaxis on a swivelled bracket carried on the top of the i car, the'horizontal axis being indicated at 18 supported between the -upstanding partsbracket. In connection 105 or ears 19 of the with the mounting of the swivelled bracket 19 it may be observed from Figures 9 and 10-that the top of the car is fitted with an insulation plate 19 which is secured to the top lof the car by suitable fastenings 19 or their'e uivalent while the bracket itself is mounte on the rivet 19, therebyl to swivel about a. vertical axis and permit the trolley to have adequate sidewise movement for making the necesary turn on curves. will thus be understood that the bracket 19 is loosely riveted thereby to move over the upper surface of the insulated plate, the rivet itself being insulated from the car top by an insulating washer 19 and insulating tube 19. The wire 19t is soldered or otherwise secured to the rivet 19 4thereby to complete the circuit from the trolley to one of rangement itE will be apparent that when to the hook of :l: the swivelled bracket. Thus, with this arthe sectional wire W is suspended above the m 7o 9 for receiving the hook 7 and one side c plate of the suspension clip S is provided with an electrical terminal 22 to which is 1 attached one end of awire 23 whose opposite end 24 is connected to a clip 25 carried b I'lo' is preferaby may be rea il a track terminal device D. This device made'in such a way that it y attached toand disconnected from the rails 1-1 and preferably includes in its organization an insulated base member 26 of fiber or other suitable material having at one side thereof a rail flange enits upper face. Thel underside of the body. 26 is provided witha rail engaging'terminal "plate 28 having a wireterminal clip -29 at gaging abutment 27 permanently secured to one side thereof and a yielding rail engag- 'v ,"trolley wire. y y

u addition to the advantage.of?,agen).l bling toymechanical track sectionsutilized a tram-set of the automatic electric type,

ing Hang?J 30A at the opposite 'end thereof as `clearly s -of the bodyv 26 is provided with a link 31 -v 1 for connecting the terminal 25 with the terl minal 32 at thexsameside of Vthe body as own in Fig. v3. Also the underside the terminal 29. The terminals' 29 and 30 therefore constitute the line wire terminals for supp-lying the electrical energy to the trolley, and the rails, which together with the ties, form theground return circuit for the motor, From an inspection vof the device shown in Figure 3 and its manner of application illustrated 1n Figure 2, it will be lobserved that the rigid abutment '27 may be fitted to the base of one rail 1, whereupon the body 26 may be pressed upwardly to snap the member 30 over the other -rail thereby to include both rails in the groundcircuit. On the other hand the clip 32 and link 31 being insulated from the rails 1--1 insure electrical connection with the clip 25 'which supplies the trolley suspension members S with current, and these of course in t l combinationba sectional track'each section including rails and cross-ties, a metallic member constituting a trolley pole and bent Y 4turn feed the motor ofthe car.

VF rom the foregoing, it will be apparent :that the present invention includes in its from the top ereby vto swing about a verticalA axis while the spring s yieldingly maintains organization a novel toy trolley construction which utilizes cars of the interurban' type in combination with rails. having supportedthereabove asuspended trolley, the

motor of the car being supplied through anovel to trolley pole.

It wi also be observed that the trolley pole has a novel mounting on the top of the car whereby the entire trolley is insulated of the car, and yet has la swivel mounting t the trolley underI uplifting tension thereby to cause the wheel to closely follow l the so that dthe wheel 16 will continuous-` the present construction is particularly' desii-able since it permits of the use of a higher speed motor which has .not heretofore been possible because of the danger of the y locomotive as 'well as the car jumpin the track when swinging around an curve at igh stood that changes in the form, proportion pended claims. .l

I claim: 1. A toy electric railway including a metallic track, a car equipped with an electric motor and adapted to travel on .said track, a trolley-pole engaging with and supported by a part of the track, an insulated mem- Vber carried by the pole, an electrical conductor trolley-Wire suspended from the insulated member, and means associated with .the track for conducting electrical current to the same and tothe trolley-wire.

'2. A toy electric railwayv including in combination, a metallic track, atrolley-wire @ther advantages have 'been heretofore pointed out, and it will of course be undei'- [and minor details of constructionl may be vresorted to, without v departing 'from' vthe spirit of the invention vor scope ofithei'api` ice ` support carried by the track, an insulated suspension clip carried by the trolley support, a trolley-wire carried by said insulated suspension clip, and a wire terminal device electrically connected to the track and to the trolley-wire. i

3. An electric toy railway including in at its lower-'end to provide a-base portion adapted to engage a pair of adjacent crossties, an insulating suspension clip carried by the Atrolley le, a trolley wire engaging said clip, an a car having an electric motor track and having a trolley for engaging said wire and a track terminal clip detachably fitted to the rails of the track and adapted to establish electric connection with said rails and with the trolley. c

5. A toy railway including in combination a track-way, an overhead trolley, and an electrical terminal device carried by the rails and contacting therewith, said termi'- nal element being also electrically connected with the trolley wire.

6. A toy railway including in combination a trackway comprisin rails, an overhead tro ey 'wire suspended above the track-way, and a terminal clip detachably fitted to said rails of the trackway and having one electrical terminal in electrical contact with both rails, and having a second electrical terminal insulated from said rails, and a' wire connecting said vsecond terminal with the overhead trolley'` 7. A toy railway including in combina#v tion a track-way including metallic rails,

. an overhead trolley wire suspended above the rails, and a device` for supplying current resupectively tov the rails and to the overhe trolley wire, said device compris ing an insulating. base having rigid and resilient abutment; elements located at oppo#v site edges and adapted to respectively engage t v anelectrical connection between one of said terminals and the overhead trolley wire.l

Vtobe 8. A toy railway including ing-combination a sectional track, each section including rails and cross-ties, an overhead trolley wire and means for supporting said wire, said means comprising a single member bentv to form a trolley pole having a wire suspendin arm, and a base dportion [adapted tted'to a .pair of a j 'of the ties.

9. A toy railway includinginfcombina-V tion a sectional track, each section includj .ing rails and .cross-ties, an overhead trolley wire and means forsupporting wire,

a pair of metallicac eiit ties by a.u movement Aparallel to the longitudinal axesA 4trolley type including means for supporting said wire including a trolley pole, land a suspension `clip carried by the pole, said clip comprising an insulating body adapted to detachablyv engage a portion of said pole7 a wire holding plate having an offset angular flange portion projecting below the insulating body and resilient means cooperating with said flange to detachably engage the trolley wire.

1l. A toy railway of the overhead electricl trolley type including an overhead sectional trolley wire, and means for suspending said pole, an insulating suspension clip detachably engaging a portion of said pole, and

sectional trolley wire comprising a trolley A having metallic elements iitted to opposite sidesthcreof said elements having means for yieldingly and detachably engaging' the ends of adjacent sections of the trolley wirefand one lof said plates having an electrical termin v nal-connection.

12.' A toy` electric railway including an.

overhead current carrying trolley-wire and` means .for supporting said wire, said means including a metallic member constituting a l trolley poley and a suspension ,clip detachably fitted to the pole, said clip comprising an insulated body engaging a portion of the pole and means carried bythe insulated body for holdingsaid wire.. v

- 13. A toy electric railway including va connected to the -trackw'ayyan insulation wire thereby to provide a continuous un- :hbroken overhead conductor,

HARRYS. BECKER.

metallic trolley-wire support adapted lto be v esv 

